Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion

Well, we've seen a remake of the original game, so why not give the prequel a makeover? Today, it's almost paramount to the video game industry to churn out as much content as possible based on your most popular IP. So it should be a surprise to no one that Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 enters the fray on the tail of the original remaster.

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 reunion is an HD remaster of the game that's seemingly forgotten in parallel with the original title. However, that doesn't make it any less significant to the franchise, and memory serves that the game was a worthy addition to the narrative. So how will this prequel hold up against all the rage of the original remake? Let's dive back into the series to find out.

Family Reunion

So let's quickly recap the critical details of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7. The game was a handheld title that expanded on the original lore, focusing on the story of Zack Flair. The narrative follows his adventure to find a missing SOLDIER, and all madness ensues in typical Final Fantasy style. In gameplay, it was the classic JRPG structure translated to the small screen, and it worked pretty damn well.

Final Fantasy fans probably will be able to remember how good the original was; the vital thing to research is whether the remake is worth our time. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion is a game that depends on the nostalgia factor to sell; there's no doubt about that. The polished, glistening graphics across a new generation of hardware aim to entice and immerse past the original.

And does it work? For the most part, yes. It's a more complex task porting old handheld gameplay to various consoles. There are moments where Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion feels a bit clunky. However, it's undoubtedly beautiful, with combat and narrative as immersive as ever.

The game's core value is to take all the assets, including voice acting, visuals, and sound, up to the next level. The title succeeds in that principle. It even serves as a worthy playthrough for those who never got around to running through this prequel. All Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion does deliver a classic remake with vibrantly enhanced assets, and we're OK with that.

No Crisis in This Core

It's a stretch to think that non-Final Fantasy fans will find Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion appealing. However, franchise fans will want to get their hands on it, not just because it's a new addition to the series, but because it's a decent remaster. Does it strike the same nodes as the original Final Fantasy VII Remake? No, but it didn't intend to do that.

Round-Up - Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Beautifully enhanced visuals and sound
• The gripping narrative made better by reworked voice acting
• The battle system has been tweaked to make combat more enjoyable

Cons:

• The control schematic can be a bit flimsy at times
• Unlikely to appeal to anyone but franchise fans

If you ever wanted to see one of Square Enix’s first attempts at changing the FF franchise from a turn-based RPG into an Action RPG, then Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion should be your first stop. Originally, Crisis Core was an exclusive title to Sony’s PSP and a game that many fans missed out on, but soon it will be available to the majority of gamers.

The Announcement

Last month Square Enix announced during their Final Fantasy VII 25th Anniversary Celebration event that the 2007 PSP exclusive prequel to Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core, would be getting the full remaster treatment and will be released on all the major platforms. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion is slated to be released for the PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC sometime in the winter season of 2022. As part of Square’s initiative to flesh out the world and story of Final Fantasy VII, they have made a concerted effort to bring previous spinoff titles to current platforms for both longtime and new fans of the franchise to experience again or enjoy for the first time.

Let’s Meet Zack

The story of Crisis Core follows Zack Fair and his journey that unfolds seven years prior to the events of the Playstation classic Final Fantasy VII. Zack is a SOLDIER in Shinra’s military and plays a big role in Cloud’s backstory, the main protagonist from Final Fantasy VII. Key events include Shinra’s war with Wutai, the Nibelheim incident, the development of Zack and Cloud’s friendship, and much more. We get to see how Zack became a 1st Class SOLDIER and what happened to many of the other high ranking SOLIDERs before Cloud arrives in Midgar.

New and Familiar Faces in the Supporting Cast

While Zack is the only playable character in Crisis Core, there is a whole supporting cast of characters for players to interact with, including several returning characters from the original title who are here for more than just a cameo: Cloud, Sephiroth, Tifa, and Aerith. The two biggest new characters are Angeal Hewley and Genesis Rhapsodos. Angeal serves as Zack’s SOLDIER mentor and wields the iconic Buster Sword while Genesis plays the role as the main antagonist for the story.

Connecting to the Larger Story

The game’s story sets up and fleshes out much of the lore and plot points for the original and with the way that Final Fantasy VII Remake’s story unfolded, fans will want to experience the breadth of story content that is available in Crisis Core as much of it is looking to be relevant for part two of the re-series, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Without giving anything away, the game covers characters and concepts that both casual and hardcore fans will enjoy.

The Moment to Moment Action

Much like Final Fantasy VII Remake, the primary gameplay of Crisis Core is an action oriented RPG. Square recently announced that the remaster will feature a menu-based battle system, though they did not go into the specifics as to what this means. In the original, players took control of Zack and moved him around in a 3D space with real time battles. He could perform basic attacks, while also using special abilities, spells, and items depending on what Materia was equipped. Players were able to block and dodge enemy attacks, which was a welcome change in my opinion. The Materia system returns with a few tweaks as well as a brand new slot machine-like mechanic called the Digital Mind Wave. Outside of battles players will navigate around the many environments of the game, interacting with NPCs and advancing the story. There are additional side missions available to complete at the various save points throughout the game, much like how you could play Blitzball in Final Fantasy X.

Remastered Visuals and Sound

Crisis Core already looked great on the PSP back in 2007, but Reunion is on another level. Reunion will feature entirely updated graphics, from character models to the environments, bringing the game well up to modern standards. It will now also be fully voice-acted and will have a new arrangement for the soundtrack. From the trailer that was released it also seems that the cutscenes have been re-rendered to keep a consistent look and feel throughout the game. The updated UI is very consistent with the Final Fantasy VII Remake as well, which will keep things feeling familiar between titles.

Action RPG Fans Are Eating Good

With Monolith Soft’s Xenoblade Chronicles 3 coming out this month and Square Enix releasing Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion and Star Ocean: The Divine Force later in the year, fans of the Action RPG genre will have their hands full for a while. Stay on the lookout for an official release date for Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion in the coming months.

Remaster Pros:

• Fully updated graphics and sound design
• Improved camera and character movements
• Updated UI elements
• Quality of life improvements to older gameplay systems

Potential Cons:

• PC Port - Square Enix has had notoriously bad optimization for many of their PC ports over the last decade
• Voice Actor Change - Fans of the original voice actor, Rick Gomez, may be sad to hear that he has been replaced
• Action Focus - Some Final Fantasy fans are still focused primarily on the turn-based titles and do not want another Action RPG in the franchise